Persona 3: Ultimate
by Fire Dragon Master
Summary: This story operates under the assumption that a close family friend adopted Minato after his parents death. Minato/Aigis Junpei/Chidori
1. Chapter 1

Persona 3: Ultimate

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

(A/N: I'm watching a let's play of Persona 3 Fes, cause if I use my game this will take forever since i'm grind happy in RPGs and I'd have to start a new game. I'm also using a walkthrough for max social links as well so don't hate. Also there will be no Yukari bashing, but neither will she be Minato's girlfriend.)

_Hello, My name is Arisato Minato. I have seen many things in my life, but this is not about that. This story is about how my life ended._

I had just been given a scholarship to one of Tokyo's most prestigous high school's Gekkoukan High. I was listening to my mp3s and looking at the COMP my mother had given me. My mother works for the Kuzunoha Detective Agency, which is where i'm going to work once I graduate high school.

I got off the train at Iwatodai and noticed that it was almost midnight. _'Here it comes. I'm glad mom gave me a COMP for my protection.'_ I mentally sighed. The power went out everyone turned into coffins and the moon had a yellowish green glow to it. I have no idea what this time is called, all I now is that it's the fault of the Kirijo Group. I continued toward the dorms that I would be staying at.

When I got there it was strange, the dorm had power! This was the first sign that I should of run away. I entered the building and a voice called out to me. "I have been waiting for you." said a child. "Waiting for me?" I asked. "If you want to proceed, pleae sign your name on the contract." The kid said as a red booklet appeared and flipped open, "All it states is that you will take full responsibility for your actions, you know the usual stuff." I noded to the kid whom I had a strong suspicion was a demon and signed my name.

After thyat the kid took the contract and said, "No one can escape time, it delivers us all to the same end. You can't cover your ears and close your eyes." He then made the contract disappear and then disappeared into the shadows himself. _'Definitely a demon.'_ I thought. Suddenly I heard a voice, I looked and saw a girl with brown hair and a pink cardigan trembling. She also had a gun. Then someone said, "Takeba, wait!" This freaked out the girl and she turned around. It was at this time that the coffin time ended. The one who called out and saved me from being shot was a red haired woman who looked to be all buisness.

"I didn't think you'd arrive so late." the strange woman said, "I'm Kirijo Mitsuru. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm." Once she said that I instantly hated her. "Who's he?" Asked the girl known as Takeba-san. "He's a transfer student. It was a last minute decision to assign him here. He'll eventually be moved to a room in the boy's dorm." Kirijo-san said. "Is it okay for him to be here?" Takeba-san asked. "If you don't want me here I'd be happy to leave." I said reminding them that I was standing infront of them. "No it's okay. You don't have anywhere else to go for now." Kirijo-san said, "This is Takeba Yukari. She'll be a junior this spring just like you." "Hey." Takeba-san said giving a slight bow. "Is this the girls dorm?" I asked. "No. This dorm is for a special extracuricular club. You may join if the faculty advisor wishes it." Kirijo-san replied.

"It's getting late, so you should get some rest." Kirijo-san said," Your room is on the second floor, at the end of the hallway. Your things should already be there." "Oh, I'll show you the way. Follow me." Takeba-san said.

When we got to the room Takeba-san asked me something, "This is it. Pretty easy to remember, huh? Since it's right at the end of the hall. Oh yeah, make sure you don't lose your key, ot you'll never hear the end of it. So any questions?" I thought I should ask her about the contract or the demon, but she'd probably think I was crazy even though she was awake during coffin time. "No, not really." I replied. "Um, can I ask you something? On your way here from the statiion, was everything okay?" She asked. "Yep, everything was the same as it usually is during coffin time." I responded. "As it usually is?" Takeba-san asked nervously. "Yeah, I've been experiencing coffin time for the past 10 years." I told her. "Oh, never mind then." Takeba-san said. She practically ran away at that point.

The next morning after I got dressed for school there was a knock on my door. "It's Yukari. Are you awake?" I decided to ignore her since she was rude to me last night. "Come on open up! I don't want to get in trouble if you miss school." I sighed as it looks like she's not going away. I walked over and opened the door for her. "Good morning. Did you sleep okay?" She said cheerfully. "Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school. It's getting late, so... Are you ready to go?" "Yeah. Just stop having mood swings okay?" I said. "Mood swings?" She replied. "Yeah, last night you were fucking terrified, but now you're cheerful? It's creepy." I said. "Sorry it's just, no one's been active during the Dark Hour as long as you." She said. "Darkl Hour?" I asked. "Yeah, what you called coffin time we call the Dark Hour." She said. "Oh. Well let's go." I said.

On the way to school Yukari-san and I talked. Yeah, we became friends. "You're okay from here right?" Yukari-san asked. "Yeah." I replied. "You should probalby go see your homeroom teacher first. The faculty office is right there to the left. And that concludes the tour. Do you have any questions before I go?" Yukari-san said. "Which class are you in?" I asked hoping my first friend here would be in the same class as me. "Me? I dunno, I haven't looked at the classroom assignments yet." She replied right before she left. I decided to run over and check out the bulliten boards to see what class i'm in. I searched for a few minutes before I found my name on a small note _'Class F, huh?'_ I thought as I went to the faculty office.

"Oh, are you the new student?" asked a teacher. "Yeah." I said. "Arisato Minato, second year, correct?" She asked. "Yeah." I replied. "Wow, you've lived in a lot of different places." the teacher said surprised. "My mother's job requires her to move around alot." I said. "Let's see, in 1999, that was what 10 years ago? Your parents.." She then gasped. "Yeah, my birth parents died. My new mother was an old friend of my birth mother's." I said. "I'm sorry, i've been so busy, I didn't have time to read this beforehand. I'm Toriumi-sensei. I teach Japanese. Welcome to our school." Toriumi-sensei said. "Nice to meet you." I said. "Have you seen the classroom assignments? You're in 2-F; that's my class. But first, we need to go to the auditorium. The Welcoming Ceremony will be starting soon. Follow me."

During the Welcoming Ceremony the guy sitting behind me asked me if Yukari-san had a boyfriend. I told him that I didn't know. After school the guy who sits to my right started talking to me. "'Sup, dude? How's it goin'?" He asked. "Who are you?" I asked. "Me? I'm Iori Junpei. Nice to meet ya. I transferred here when I was in the 8th grade. I know how tough it is being the new kid. So I wanted to say hey. See what a nice guy I am?" Iori-san said. "Nice to meet you too." I said. Yukari-san walked up and then Iori-san said, "Hey, it's Yuka-tan! I didn't think we'd be in the same class again." Yukari-san sighed, " At it again, huh? I swear, you'll talk to anyone if they'll listen. Did you ever think you might be bothering someone?" "What? But I was just bein' friendly." Iori-san said. "If you say so." Yukari-san said, "Anyway, looks like we're in the same class." "Yeah, I know." I said. Yukari laughed, "Still i'm a little surprised." "Um, hello? Are you forgetting that i'm in this class too?" Iori-san said, "By the way, I heard you two came to school together this morning. What's up with that? C'mon gimme the dirt!" "What are you talking about? We live in the same dorm. There's nothing going on, okay?" Yukari-san said. "Why are people even talking about it? Now you have me worried."

"Hey, you didn't say anything to anyone about, you know what, did you?" Yukari asked, I think she forgot about Iori-san being within earshot. "Seriously, don't say anthing about last night, alright?" She said. Iori-san looked shocked. "Wh-what?" Yukari-san asked. "Last night?" Iori-san asked. "Wait a minute! Don't get the wrong idea! I just met him yesterday, and there's absolutely nothing between us!" Yukari-san said, "I've gotta go. I have something to do for the archery team. But, you better not start any rumors!" She then walked off. "Ah, who cares? No one takes rumors seriously, anyway." Iori-san said. I snorted. "She's so paranoid. But, hey! It's your first day here, and people are already talking about you!." Iori-san continued, "Believe it or not, she's pretty popular. You da man!" "She's nice, but not my type." I said. "Seriously? Wow. Oh well, at least it's gonna be a fun year. I can feel it!" Iori-san said. We then walked home together.

As we walked home together we talked and became fast friends. We parted ways a few blocks from the dorm. "Welcome back." Kirijo-san said as I came inside. "I'll be in my room studying." I told her. On the way I got a few Mad Bulls from the vending machine on the second floor.

(A/N: Try and guess who his mother is, rest assured she will appear in the story sometime around December. This story also differs from the game since it will give nods to Shin Megami Tensei if, Persona 1, Innocent Sin, Eternal Punishment, and Devil Summoner.)


	2. Chapter 2

Persona 3: Ultimate

Chapter 2: My Inner Self

(A/N: The amount of reviews doesn't matter to me updating, it's only when I feel like it. Also yes, Aigis will be Minato's girlfriend when she eventually appears.)

As I was walking to school the next day I overheard a conversation. "Did you hear the rumor?" one female student said. "Oh, um... something about a bathroom?" the other female student asked. "N-No! Not that one! I mean the story about the first year student! Not only does she stop coming to school, she does nothing but sit and stare at the walls all day. If her mother tries to talk to her, she only mutters to herself, 'It's coming... It's coming...!'" The first student said. "Huh. How about that." the second student said looking bored. "You don't believe me?" the first student asked. the second student's reply was interrupted by the first bell.

Later in the afternoon in Toriumi-sensei's class. "Open your textbooks and we'll take a look at the first novel by... Zenzou Kasai. Uh, why him? I'd rather teach Utsubo Kubota. He became famous as a singer, but he's also produced fine literature. I wonder why it's not in the textbook. Well, I'll just bring Kubota's book next time." Toriumi-sensei mini-ranted. She then noticed that Junpei-san wasn't paying much attention. "Hey, Iori-san! Were you listening? Who did I say was my favorite author?" Junpei-san looked shocked that she caught him not paying attention. "H-Huh? U-Ummm..." Junpei looked at me and whispered "Psst! Who does she like?" I told him the answer. "Utsubo Kubota." Junpei said. "That's right! So you were listening to me after all!" Toriumi-sensei said a little surprised. "Eheheh... Well, you know how I like to pay attention!" Junpei said nervously. "Man, you saved my bacon, Minato-san!" Junpei whispered. "No problem." I whispered back. I heard my classmates whispering, "Arisato-san gave him the answer... He must pay attention in class!" And I could feel my popularity among my classmates increase.

On my way back to the dorm after school, I walked by the strip mall in front of the train station. I saw lots of people there.

"Oh, he's back." Yukari-san said. She was speaking to someone who I guessed was the faculty advisor. "So, this is our new guest." He said as he got up from the chair. "Good Evening, my name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the Chairman of the Board for your school. 'Ikustsuki' ... Hard to say, isn't it? That's why I don't like introducing myself. Even I get tongue-tied sometimes. Please, have a seat." From the moment he started speaking I could tell that there was something suspicous about him. "I apologize about the confusion regarding your accoodations. However , It ay take a while longer before you recieve the proper room assignment. Is there anything you'd like to ask?" I thought about it for a moment before I asked, "Why are you here?" "To welcome you, of course. Well, to be honest, I do have other business here. Speaking of which where's Mitsuru-san, Yukari-san?" Ikutsuki-san answered then asked. "She's upstairs." Yukari replied. "As diligent as always. Although, it doesn't hurt to come down and say hello. Is there anything else?" I felt uncomfortable talking to Ikutsuki-san so I told him no. "Then I hope you have a successful school year. Now, if you'll excuse me." He said as he got up and went upstairs, but he paused by the side of the couch Yukari-san and I were sitting on and said, "You must be tired fro all the excitement. You should go to bed early." _'Yeah, right.'_ I thought. "As they say 'the early bird catches the bookworm!'" _'That was painful.'_ I thought at his bad pun. "Please forgive the pun." He then walked off. "You'll get used to his bad jokes." Yukari-san said.

"Hey, Yukari-san." I said after Ikutsuki-san left. "Yeah, Minato-san?" she replied. "Please don't tell me that guy is the club advisor." I said. "Yeah, he is." She replied. "I don't trust him. Something about him just screams untrustworthy to me, and it's not the bad puns." I told her. "Maybe your just imagining things?" Yukari-san asked. " I don't think so. I'm going to go study. I'll probably get to sleep after the Dark Hour ends." I said before heading up to my room.

After the Dark Hour ended I decided to get some sleep. I dreamed of a elevator covered in blue velvet. "Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear young man." said a man who looked like a tenguu, "My name is Igor, I am delighted to make your acquaintance." "Wait, I've heard of you. You're a servent of Philemon aren't you?" I asked this figure I've heard some of mom's friends reminicse about. "Regretibly my master is dead and I was given power over the psyche in his place. I'm surprised you know of him young man." Igor said. "Some of my mom's friends have a power called Persona, and they told me tales about you and Philemon." I told him. "Good things, I hope." He said. "About you? Yes, your master? Not so much." I replied. "I see. Well I still have a whole speech I've been preparing, so can I continue or do you want to cut to the chase?" Igor asked looking a little sad about not doing his speech.

"Go ahead, they never made it clear to me about what the Persona power is." I said. "Umm, I'm still preparing that speech. This is just to introduce you to this place." Igor replied. "Fine, I can wait." I said. "Very well then." He said before clearing his throat. "This is Elizabeth. She's a resident here, like myself." "Pleased to meet you." The woman in the strange blue outfit, now identified as Elizabeth-san, said. "This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It's been years since we've had a guest. Nine years infact." Igor then summoned the contract from the dorm to the table. "Only those who have signed the contract can enter this place. Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room. You are destined to hone your unique ability, and will recuire my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return, that you abide by the contract and assume responsibility for the choices you make."

"I understand. By the way, nice speech so far." I told him. "Thank you." He replied, "Hold on to this." Igor then gave me a key. "Until we meet again." At that time I woke up in my room the key Igor gave me in my hand. _'This is going to be great practice for my future as a devil summoner.'_ I thought as I got up.

On the way to school I met up with Junpei. "What's up!? Man, today is the perfect day! The sky is blue... We're young... What more could we ask for!?" Junpei said. I decided not to respond and we went to class.

This morning we had Classic Lit. "Ahem... I'm Ekoda-sensei. I'll be teaching you Classic Literature. I'll be teaching you about good old Japan all year. Some people say Classic Lit isn't relevant to everyday life, but oh, how they're wrong! The students, the other teachers... Wrong, wrong, wrong! Nobody really understands Classic Lit..." I stayed awake, but it was hard to listen to Ekoda-sensei's ranting.

After school Junpei and I walked home and passed by the train station and I saw a movie theatre. _'Might have to see what movies are playing soon.'_

I was studying in my room when an earthquake shook the building. _'Something must be happening.'_ I thought. Soon I heard banging on my door and Yukari-san yelling at me, "We've got trouble!" She then kicked open my door. "Sorry, the chairman will pay for the lock. We have to get out of here, now!" "Is it a demon?" I asked. "What are you talking about? This isn't a joke!" She said. "Who said that I was joking." I said seriously as I pulled out my COMP. "Whatever, let's get going! We'll leave through the back door!" Yukari-san said. "Oh, just in case." She said as she handed me a short sword. We then ran.

We got to the back door safely. "Alright, we should be safe now-" Suddenly a ringing noise came from Yukari-san's ear, "Takeba-san, can you here me?" Kirijo-san said. "Y-Yes! I hear you!" Yukari-san said. "Be careful! There's more than one enemy!" Kirijo-san said, "The one we're fighting isn't the one Akihiko-san saw!" "What!?" Yukari screamed. Suddenly something tried to break down the back door. "L-Let's pull back!" Yukari gasped. We ran all the way up to the roof and locked the door. "I think we're okay for now." Yukari-san said. We then saw a monster made up of numerous arms one holding a mask climb up the wall to attack us. "Those monsters, we call them shadows." Yukari-san said as the monster charged at us. Yukari-san pulled out the gun I saw on her the day I came here, and put it to her head trying to pull the trigger. The monster attacked and Yukari-san dropped the gun. I picked up the gun and had a vision of the demon telling me to pull the trigger. I decided to trust this demon. I could tell I was going to get the power of Persona. "Per.. so.. na." I said as I pulled the trigger.

Glass shot out of the other side of my head and spiraled up and a being formed it spoke. _**"Thou art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I come. I am Orpheus, Master of Strings."**_ The being said. Suddenly a great pain wracked my head and something clawed it's way out of Orpheus shattering it. This being destroyed the Shadow in less than five seconds. Then as if the world was a television it glitched and Orpheus was there in the being's place. "Is it over?" Yukari-san asked. There was a small roar and two much smaller shadows attacked. I summoned Orpheus and he smashed them with his harp, but one of the hit me and it hurt. I then collapsed after the battle.


	3. Chapter 3

**Persona 3: Ultimate**

Chapter 3: Joining SEES

(A/N: I recieved a review questioning Philemon's death, so to that reviewer and any others I got the idea from Persona 3: Fairly English Story. If you have any questions check it out since my version of Philemon's death isn't much different.)

When I woke up I was in the velvet room. "It's so nice to see you again." Igor said. "Hi Igor, hi Elizabeth-san." I greeted. "Hello." Elizabeth-san replied. "You becae unconscious after awakening to your _'power'_." Igor told me. "So that was Persona, nice." I said. "Indeed. I see that it was Orpheus that heeded your calling. The power of Persona is a anifestation o0f your psyche." Igor explained. "So you finished the speech." I said. "Yes, may I continue?" Igor asked. "Sorry, please continue." I replied.

"It may take come time to fully comprehend. A Persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimulai. You can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships. That being said your power is still weak." Igor continued with his speech. "What do you mean weak?" I asked. "No offense meant. When you use your Persona ability you ust channel your inner strength. The ability evolves as you develop your Social Links; your emotional ties with others. The stronger your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability. Please remember that." Igor explained. "Alright. Sounds similar to demon summoning, but with socialization added." I said. "It is more complicated than that, but you get the gist of it." Igor said, "Now then time marches on in your world. I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Next time we meet, you will coe here of your own accord." Igor said. "I certainly will." I replied. "Until then, farewell." Igor said his goodbye as everything went black.

I next woke up in a hospital bed with Yukari-san sitting in a chair next to me. "You're awake!" Yukari-san said exitedly, "Um, how do you feel?" "Not bad, except for this irritating suspicion that i've been asleep for a long time." I answered. "Well, you have been asleep for a week." Yukari-san said. I lost it. _**"A WEEK!"**_ I yelled, _**"I'VE BEEN ASLEEP FOR A WHOLE WEEK!"**_ "And this is why I didn't want to tell you." Yukari-san said a little cowed,"I told Mitsuru-senpai that I didn't want to be the one to tell you, but she thought you'd react better if it cae from a friend." And that calmed me down. "Sorry, I don't like being asleep for so long. I'd have been pissed if I slept for a whole day, let alone a week." I apologized. "It's okay. The doctor said that you were just exhausted." Yukari-san said, "I'm sorry I couldn't do anything back on the roof." "No problem, performance anxiety happens to everyone." I said with a grin. _**"It wasn't that!**_ I just got so scared." Yukari-san said embarrassed, "By the way, there's someone here to see you." "Who?" I asked right before the door opened.

"Nii-san!" said a girl the same age as me with auburn hair and a friendly smile ran up to the bed and pulled me into a big hug. "Minako, what are you doing here?" I asked the girl. "Mom said I could come visit you in the hospital. She had to work so she couldn't come." Minako said. "Minato-san, who is this?" Yukari-san asked. "Allow me to introduce myself, Satomi Minako, Minato's cousin." Minako introduced herself and grabbed Yukari-san in a giant hug. "Sorry about this Yukari-san, Minako's very affectionate." I said smirking, "and a hugger." "Could you please let me go, I can't breath." Yukari-san said. "Sorry, I get a little too exited sometimes." Minako apologized. "Hey Minako, Yukari-san experiences coffin time like we do." I said still smirking, this is too funny. "Really, a new friend!" Minako said right before she started hugging Yukari-san again. "Ack!" Yukari-san said when she realized she was in one of Minako's hugs again.

Later after my sadistic glee died down. "So you experience the Dark Hour too?" Yukari-san asked. "Yep. Seeing all that scary stuff made me realize that we have to enjoy the time we have." Minako said with her arms tied up to prevent her from hugging Yukari-san again. "Hey Minako, remember Mom's friends that talked about Persona?" I asked. "No Way, you've got the power of Persona?" Minako asked and I nodded, "That's so cool. Have you met Igor?" "Yep, he's as weird as we were told." I replied. "Wait, there are others who have the power of Persona besides those here?" Yukari-san asked. "Yep, Mom had a brief run in with the power herself and there are others who saved the world with it." Minako said, "Hey, do you think I could develop it as well?" "Probably. I'll talk to Ikutsuki-san when I see him next, maybe you could get transfered here as well." I said still wary of Ikutsuki-san and his painfully bad puns. "That'd be great Nii-san." Minako said excited at the prospect.

When I got discharged that night Minako walked me back to the dorm. I called Mom, told her what happened, and asked if Minako could stay until Ikutsuki-san made a decision and she said that it was alright as long as I protected her from the Shadows. "So who's this?" Sanada-sempai asked, I met him on the way to my room on the night of the attack. "My cousin, Satomi Minako." I told him. "Nice to meet you." Sanada-sempai said. "Hi, thank you for taking care of Nii-san." Minako said with a slight blush on her face. "Hey Sanada-sempai, can you take Minako up to a free room? She's staying here until I can talk to Ikutsuki-san about her joining." I told him. "Alright, this way Satomi-san." Sanada-sempai said. I went to my room to study until the Dark Hour passed and I went to bed.

The next day I went back to school. Minako decided to keep me company until I could talk to Ikutsuki-san, since Mom said it was okay. I encountered Yukari-san at the front gate. "Mornin'. You seem to be doing pretty well." Yukari-san asked. "Yeah, I'm alright." I said. "That's good. Oh, Ikutsuki-san wants to talk to you today." She said. "That's fast, I can ask him about Minako joining then." I said. "Are you sure you want her to join?" Yukari-san asked. "Yes she's my cousin, practically my sister. We're even going to join the Kuzunoha Detective Agency together." I told her. "Meet at the 4th floor after school, alright?" Yukari-san asked. "Sure." I replied.

I had History this morning, Ono-sensei was bored wishing he was talking about the Sengoku era. Suddenly he called on Junpei, "What was the style of houses in the Jomon period called?" "Uhh, how am I supposed to know about something way back then? Quick, Minato! What the heck is he talking about!?" Junpei asked me. "Mud huts." I replied bored. "Correct." Odo-sensei said.

I stopped by the mall on my way home. It seemed fairly busy.

When I got home Minako welcomed me with one of her usual hugs. "Let's go to the fourth floor, I'll ask about you joining then." I said. "Alright." she said with her usually chipper voice. When we got to the fourth floor we saw Yukari-san waiting outside the door. "Oh! There you are! Everyone's waiting. You'll have to wait out here Minako-san." Yukari-san said. "Okay." Minako said. Yukari-san and I then walked into the room.

Ikutsuki-san was sitting in a chair at the head of the table in the middle of the room, Sanada-sempai was sitting on an ottoman to his right, and Kirijo-san was sitting on his left at the end of the couch. "Ah, there you are. I'm glad that you're okay." Ikutsuki-san said. "Hold on," I said interrupting him, "I know you're going to explain this club and it's activities and ask me to join, but before you do I have a condition. My cousin has to join as well, she's been experiencing the Dark Hour just as long as I have, so it's either both of us or neither of us." I gave Ikutsuki-san my ultimatum. "Fine then, bring her in here." Ikutsuki-san said. I opened the door and told Minako to come in. She walked up and stood on my left with Yukari-san on my right. "Continue." I said. "The reason I asked you here is because I needed to talk to you. Please have a seat." Ikutsuki-san said. I sat on the ottoman at the end of the table, Minako sat on the ottoman between me and Sanada-sempai, and Yukari-san sat one cushion away from Kirijo-san. "Oh, before that, this is Sanada Akihiko." "Yeah we met the night of the attack just after you went upstairs to meet Kirijo-san." I said. "Minato introduced us last night." Minako said, "I ran into Mitsuru-san when Akihiko-san showed me to my room." "Ah, alright then. Let me start off by asking you this, would you believe me if I said a day consists of more than 24 hours?" Ikutsuki-san asked. "Of course, the 24 hours everyone experiences and the Dark Hour which we experience. It happens at Midnight here, but happens in other countries at different ties due to the time zones." I replied. "For example it happens at 3:00 pm in London, 10:00 am in New York, 7:00 am in Los Angeles and 11:00 pm in Hong Kong." Minako said. Minako is nearly as smart as she is exciteable.

"Um, yes. You two are more knowledgeable about this than I thought." Ikutsuki-san said stunned. "Well, we have been active during the Dark Hour for 10 years." I said. "So then you know about the Shadows." Sanada-san said. "Shadows?" Minako asked. "Actually the attack on the dorm was the first time I saw them. They probably congregate here naturally." I theorized. "That's weird, they usually attack anything not in a coffin. But regardless it's our job to defeat them. Sounds exciting, huh?" Sanada-sempai said. "Akihiko! Why are you always like that? You just got hurt the other day!" Kirijo-san scolded him. "Actually it does sound fun, and good practice." I said. "Practice?" Sanada-sempai asked. "Yeah, Minato and I are going to join the Kuzunoha Detective Agency when we graduate. Every agent there is a Devil Summoner, one who makes a pact with a demon for that demon to work for the summoner." Minako explained. "Wait, you mean demons are real!?" Yukari-san asked freaked out. "Demon is a catch-all term for any supernatural entity that will bring harm to human beings or interfere with their lives in one way or another. That means deities, devils, fey, and even angels." I explained to the others.

"Can I continue now?" Ikutsuki-san asked. "Oh right, go ahead." I said. "Long story short, we're the Specialized Extracuricular Execution Squad - SEES for short. On paper, we're classified as a school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the Shadows. Mitsuru is the leader, I'm the club advisor." Ikutsuki-san explained. "A Shadow feeds on the mind of it's prey; the victim becomes a living corpse. They're responsible for most of the incidents on the news if not all of them." Kirijo-san said. "And you use Personas to fight them, right?" Minako asked. "Right. The Shadows can only be defeated by Persona-users. Which means, it's all up to you guys." Ikutsuki-san said. "I may not have a Persona yet, but I'm certain to when I encounter a Shadow." Minako said with conviction, I swear you could practically see flames burning in her eyes. Kirijo-san put a briefcase on the table and opened it, inside was a gun and an armband with SEES printed on it. "So are you in?" Kirijo-san asked. Minako and I looked at each other and said at the same time, "Yes."

(A/N: This chapter practically screams who Minato's Mom is, and yes Minako is the Female Protagonist from Persona 3 Portable, but the story doesn't follow her. Incase you haven't noticed this story follows Minato's point of view, so I won't be doing sceens that he isn't there for. I also won't be doing one following Minako since I haven't played Portable. Also this is being written on wordpad, so there is no spellcheck, if a word is misspelled I probably didn't notice during the writing. I do want reviews telling me how good this story is and where I can do better in writing it, but the plot won't be changed. Also Minako will date Shinjiro since he's my second favorite teammate, Aigis is first and Kuromaru is third.)


	4. Chapter 4

**Persona 3: Ultimate**

Chapter 4: Tartarus

"I was afraid you'd say no." Yukari-san sighed, "Welcome aboard." "Thank you so much. I'm really glad." Ikutsuki-san said. _'Why is he so glad?'_ I thought to myself. "Oh, I almost forgot; about your room assignment. Why don't you just stay here, in your current room Minato-san? We'll let you stay in one of the girls rooms, okay Minako-san?" Ikutsuki-san continued. "Alright." I said. "Okie-dokie!" Minako said. "I don't know what the holdup is, but I guess it worked out in the end." Ikutsuki-san said before chuckling. The others immediatly sweatdropped.

"Holdup? But, wasn't that- Oh, never mind." Yukari-san said, "It doesn't matter anymore." Suddenly it seemed as if time froze and I heard a sound like glass shattering. _**"Thou art I, and I am thou. Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Fool Arcana."**_ said Orpheus. _'So this must be the Social Link thing that Igor was talking about.'_ I thought. Time resumed as I ended my thought.

"Hi how are you?" said the demon kid as he suddenly appeared on my bed. "I'm trying to study right now." I said. "Oh, did I come at a bad time?" He asked. "No, bu little pissed that doing what you told me to do resulted in me being asleep for a week." I said. "Soon the end will come." the boy said, "I remembered, so I thought I sould tell you." "The End? What End?" I asked slightly fearing the answer. "The End of everything." The boy said, "But to be honest, I don't really know what it is."

"Let me guess, you'd like me to either help you find out or stop it." I asked. "I'm not sure." The boy said, "You have an unusual power. A power that takes any forms, yet is bound by none. It may prove to be your salvation, depending on where you end up." _'Interesting.'_ I thought. "Do you remember when we first met?" The boy asked. I nodded and he contuinued, "I expect you to honor your commitment. I'll be watching you, even if you forget about me. See you later." The demon kid then disappeared. I went back to studying until the Dark Hour ended.

The next night Yukari-san called me and Minako to come downstairs and we met Sanada-san in front of the front door. "Okay, they're here now. So, what's this all about?" Yukari-san asked. "There's someone I wanna Introduce. Hey, hurry up." Sanada-san said. "Hold your horses this is freaking heavy." said a familiar voice from outside. _'No Freaking Way, that's Junpei-san's voice!'_ I thought and was proven correct as he came inside not 3 seconds later. "J-Junpei-san!? Why is he here!?" Yukari-san asked, "Wait, don't tell me." "This is Iori Junpei from class 2-F. He'll be staying here as of today." Sanada-san said.

"Woah, who is this beauty?" Junpei-san asked as soon as he noticed Minako. "Junpei-san allow me to introduce you to my cousin, Satomi Minako." I said, "Remember the code you talked about the day we met?" "Damn, nice to meet you." Junpei-san said deflated. "Code?" Yukari-san and Minako asked. "The 'Bro' Code." I said, "I specifically expanded the 'no sleeping with your bro's sister.' rule to include cousins-who-are-like-sisters." "If I knew she was hot I never would of agreed to that." Junpei-san said. "I'm sorry, but even if you didn't agree I would turn you down. You're just not my type." Minako said shooting him down. "Anyways, I ran into him the other night and he agreed to help." Sanada-san said trying to recover from the derailment. "He found me cryin' like a baby at the convenience store, surrounded by a bunch of coffins." Junpei-san said.

"Newbie." Minako and I snorted. "Huh?" Junpei-san asked. "Minato-san and Minako-san have been active for 10 years, since the day we theorize the Dark Hour first began." Sanada-san explained. "WOW!" Junpei-san exclaimed. "Actually, Nii-san was awake for a month before I woke up." Minako corrected. "Well I can't really remember it that well, but that's normal in the beginning." Junpei-san said. "We never had that problem." I told him. "Big deal, it happens to everyone else." Junpei-san said, "But man, I was shocked to find out about you guys. I had no idea. I'm glad I'm not the only one. It could get kinda lonely, ya know."

"I know exactly how lonely it was in the beginning, plus I was seven." I said, "But ever since Minako woke up I wasn't lonely again." "Well your probably stoked havin' me join." Junpei-san said. "Huh? Uh, y-yeah." Yukari-san said nervously. "As long as you don't get in my and Minako's way, since you don't have combat training." I said.

"Well, enough with the introductions. I think we're about ready." Sanada-san said. "Ooh, we're gonna do somethin'?" Junpei-san asked. "Are we gonna fight some of those Shadows?" Minako asked a hint of bloodlust appearing in her eyes. "Actually, yes." Sanada-san said, "With this many people we can start exploring that place." "You mean, Tartarus?" Yukari-san asked nervously.

"Tartarus? What's that? Sounds like toothpaste." Junpei-san said ignorantly. "Tartarus is the prison the Greek gods trapped the Titans in, I'm guessing you named it that because of the meaning of the word?" I explained to Junpei-san and then asked Sanada-san. "Kind of. We believe we can find the reason for the Dark Hour there." Sanada-san said. "I hope so." Yukari-san said. "The chairman will give us the details tomorrow night, so be ready." Sanada-san said.

The next morning I overheard a conversation in front of the school gates. "Good Morning. I'm always so drowsy on Monday mornings." said a female student with a white bag. "Yeah, me too. The only thing you can do is to sleep through first period." said a female student with a blue bag, "Wait, Tomorrow is when we have morning assembly!" "Ughhh, I'm too lazy for that. I'll just pretend I didn't hear-" White Bag said, but was interupted by the bell.

In homeroom Toriumi-san made an announcement, "Class, today we have a new student. Please give her a warm welcome. You can come in now." Surprise Surprise, the new student was Minako. "Hello everyone! I'm Satomi Minako, Minato's cousin! Please be kind to me or Minato will kill you!" Minako said cheerfully. I heard murmurs along the lines of "She's kidding isn't she?" "She doesn't look like she's kidding.". Minako then sat in the empty seat behind me.

At lunchtime Junpei-san and I were talking when Yukari-san got up. "I thought I was going to fall asleep in there." Yukari-san yawned. Suddenly, Kirijo-san walked in to the classroom. "Can I have a minute?" Kirijo-san asked us, "Come to the lounge when you get back to the dorm. I have something to tell everyone." "Oh, are we having that talk?" Junpei-san asked. "I'll save the details for later. See you there." Kirijo-san said. "I hope this is about what I think it's about." Minako said. Kirijo-san then left.

"Wow, she didn't waste any time leaving." Junpei-san said. "She's probably busy with things like Student Council, unlike us." Yukari-san said rudely. "Whoa, Yuka-tan! Do I sense some hostility?" Junpei-san asked. "You're not the only one. It has something to do with the Kirijo Group, right?" I asked. "My dad died working for them." Yukari-san said. "Minato and I have heard bad things about the Kirijo Group from some friends of Mom's, but they still work fairly closely with their parent group, the Nanjo Group, despite some bad blood between them." Minako said.

Junpei, Minako and I walked back to the dorm past the strip mall. It was fairly busy, and we talked about many different things and laughed about inappropriate jokes.

We sat down at the table in the lounge. Ikutsuki-san was at the head of the table again, Sanada-san and Kirijo-san were at their usual spots, and Yukari-san sat on the ottoman next to Sanada-san. Junpei-san took a seat next to Yukari-san, I sat next to Kirijo-san and Minako sat next to me. "Okay, everybody's here." Ikutsuki-san said, "I'd like your undivided attention. For a long time Mitsuru-san and Akihiko-san were the only Persona users we had. But that number recently jumped to six. Therefore, starting tonight at 12:00am, I'd like to start the exploration of Tartarus."

"Sorry, I asked this yesterday, but what's this Tartarus thing again?" Junpei-san asked. "You haven't seen it, Junpei-san?" Yukari-san asked. "Hm?" Junpei-san looked quizzically. "It's no surprise since it only appears during the Dark Hour." Ikutsuki-san explained. "Oh, that large tower I sometimes see out my window when I'm studying." I said in realization. "It's the perfect place for us to train." Sanada-san said, "You can think of it as a Shadow nest." "Whoa, Their nest huh?" Junpei-san asked. "But, Senpai, what about your injury?" Yukari-san asked. "Don't worry, I'm sure Minato and I can take them on by ourselves if need be." Minako said. "No, it's too dangerous to go in a group of less than four." Kirijo-san said, "Besides, Akihiko will only go as far as the entrance." "Yeah, I know." Sanada-san said glumly.

"Well, I'm sure he won't complain as long as you don't go too far in." Ikutsuki-san said, "Since we're dealing with Shadows, Tartarus isn't something we can avoid." Junpei suddenly stood up and said, "Relax, I've got your backs." I have a feeling that he was trying to show off. "I'm not so sure about this." Yukari-san said. "What about you Chairman-sama?" Kirijo-san asked. "I'll stay here." Ikutsuki-san said, "As you know, I can't summon a Persona."

At about a minute to the Dark Hour we arrived at the school gates. "This is it? _This_ is the place?" Junpei-san said shocked, "Why _here_?" "Just wait a minute." Sanada-san said, "It's almost midnight." The Dark Hour happened right then. Gekkoukan High school started twisting, contorting, and growing until it became the tower I saw outside my window during the Dark Hour.

"This is Tartarus, the labyrinth that reveals itself during the Dark Hour." Kirijo-san said. "Labyrinth?" Junpei-san asked, "What are you talking about!? What happened to our school!?" "A Labyrinth is a huge maze that changes it's appearance frequently." I explained, "Many human scholars mistakenly believe a labyrinth to be a cursory non-branching path." "Once the Dark Hour passes, everything returns to normal." Kirijo-san said. "This is the 'nest' you were talking about!?" Junpei asked still in shock, "But, why!? Why'd our school turn into a giant tower!?"

KIrijo-san looked away as if she couldn't say. "You don't know, either?" Junpei asked. "No." Kirijo-san answered. "I'm sure it's complicated." Yukari-san said, "Who cares anyway? It's not like it would change our minds about fighting." "Well, maybe now we'll find out." Sanada-san said, "Mitsuru and I have only gone in to take a peek; this will be our first time exploring it. Exciting isn't it?" Minako and I nodded our heads in agreement. "There has to be some sort of clue in here about the Dark Hour." Sanada-san said, but I think he just wanted to fight Shadows and was making an excuse. "Akihiko, I respect your enthusiasm, but you won't be accompanying us today." Kirijo-san said. "I know. You don't have to remind me." Sanada-san said. "Don't worry, I'll kick their asses extra hard for you." I told him in an attempt to cheer him up. "Thanks." Sanada-san replied.

"Whoa, It's just as cool on the inside." Junpei-san said as we walked inside. "Yeah." Minako and I said in agreement. "Well to me it's creepy." Yukari-san said. "This is only the entrance. The labyrinth lies beyond the doorway at the top of the stairs." Kirijo-san said. "First we'll have you four get a feel for this place." Sanada-san said, "Why don't you go have a look around?" "What!? By ourselves!?" Yukari-san asked. "Why else did they say we should bring our weapons?" I asked, my hand resting on the pommel of my sword. "We're not asking you to go very far, and I'll be feeding you information from here." Kirijo-san said.

"So you two didn't plan on coming in the first place?" Junpei asked. "Well they sure didn't bring their weapons." Minako said. "We're also going to appoint a leader to make any necessary decisions." Sanada-san said. "For real?" Junpei asked, "One of us? Oh! Oh! Me me me! Pick me!" "You're in charge." Sanada-san said looking at me. "Thanks." I said. "W-wait! Why him!? He doesn't look like a leader!" Junpei-san said. "But he _has_ fought them before." Yukari-san said. "Seriously?" Junpei-san said.

"As leader I appoint Minako to be my second in command. In case i'm unable to lead." I said. "It's true he has fought them before, but there's another reason." Sanada-san said as he pulled out his evoker and pointed it to his head, "You two, can you summon your Persona without any difficulties, like they can?" Minako had summoned her Persona the night we joined SEES, she didn't hesitate. "Y-Yeah, of course I can!" Junpei-san said bluffing. "I think so." Yukari-san said. "These are Shadows we're talking about here. Without your Persona, you're screwed." Sanada-san said. "I'm aware of that." Yukari-san said.

As we began walking to the entrance I noticed a strange door. I walked over and used the Velvet Key.

"I've been waiting for you." Igor said as I walked to my chair, "The time has come for you to wield your power. The tower that you are about to venture into, how did it come to be? For what purpose does it exist? Regrettably, you are not yet capable of answering these questions. That is why you must be made aware of the nature of your power."

"The nature of my power?" I asked. "Your power is unique. It's like the number zero. It's empty, but at the same time holds infinite possibilities." Igor continued, "You, my boy, are able to possess multiple Personas, and summon them as needed. And when you have defeated your enemies, you will see the faces of possiblities before you. There may be times when they are difficult to grasp. But, do not fear. Seize what you have earned. Your power will grow accordingly. Be sure to keep that in mind." "Good speech, and I will." I said.

"My spare time will soon be scarce. But, please come again of your own accord." Igor said, "I'll tell you then about my true role, the manner in which I can best assist you. Until then, Farewell." I got up and walked out of the Velvet Room.

"Hey, are you alright?" Yukari-san asked as she, Minako, and Junpei-san walked up to me. "Yeah, what's up? You look like a zombie." Junpei-san said. "Is the door to the Velvet Room right there?" Minako asked. "The Velvet Room?" Junpei-san asked as I nodded my head. "A place where only the Invited can go to store and fuse Personas." Minako said, "Since we can't see the door, then only you can have multiple Personas." "Whoa." Junpei-san said, "So how many can you have?" "Not many at the moment, but I'm sure to be able to carry more as I get stronger." I said as I walked to the entrance of the labyrinth.

"So this is it huh?" Junpei-san asked as we arrived on the first block, Thebel. "I hope I don't get lost." Yukari-san said. "Can you all hear me?" Kirijo-san asked through our earpieces. "Whoa! Is that you, Senpai?" Junpei-san asked stupidly. Minako gave Junpei-san a dope slap for his stupidity. "Hey." Junpei-san said. "Minako has my permission to slap anyone who asks a stupid question." I informed them.

"I'll be providing audio support from here on out." Kirijo-san said. "Wait. Ya mean, you can see inside here?" Junpei-san asked earning another slap. "It's my Persona's ability." Kirijo-san said, "I'd like to join you, but the structure of Tartarus changes from day to day. That's why outside support is imperative." "Well, _that_ makes e feel a whole lot better." Yukari-san said sarcasticly. "Now, based on your location, you can expect to encounter enemies at any minute." KIrijo-san said, "They shouldn't be too tough, but proceed with caution. Practice makes perfect." "But no plan survives contact with the enemy." I said.

I spotted a briefcase and ran over to it. Inside was a Medicine. We then wandered around for a few seconds until we spotted a Shadow. "Move in and hit Shadows before they attack you." Kirijo-san said. "Yukari-san how accurate are you with that bow?" I asked. "I'm one of the best on the Archery team, why?" Yukari-san replied. "Can you snipe that Shadow before it sees us?" I asked. "I'll try." she said. She pulled the string back and let loose an arrow that struck the Shadow dead on.

The Shadow exploded in a burst of power and reformed into one of those masked blobs, Mayas, I think their called. I put my evoker to my head and Summoned Orpheus who strummed the strings of his harp, causing the enemy to burst in flames which quickly died down. The enemy was on the ground dazed, so I gave the order to gang up on it. It died after we beat up on it. It left behind a bottle of Snuff Soul, which restores magical power.

We soon ran into a staircase, but Kirijo-san told us to stay on this floor for today, so we passed it by. There was another Shadow Mass near the stairs, which I had Yukari-san snipe once again. It split into two Mayas. Kirijo-san's voice came over the earpiece and asked if I needed to know about attack properties, but I declined. I knew from the previous fight that these things were weak to fire, so I had Orpheus use Agi on both of them and they fell over dazed ripe for an All Out Attack. I found a Revival Bead on the floor after they disappeared and pocketed it.

There was a chest near where we fought the second group that contained another Snuff Soul. After storing it in my pack we continued on. Kirijo-san informed us about a Shadow Mass around the corner, so I took a peak and it's back was turned. I decided to run up and stab it, which caused it to break into three Mayas this time. I continued to exploit the Maya's weakness to fire and finished them off the same way as the last two battles.

This time after the battle it seemed as if time froze and 4 cards appeared in front of me. The two in the center had pictures of Cups, the one on the right had a picture of a Sword, and the one on the left showed a demon that I knew too well; a Pixie. _'Our Personas_ _seem to take the forms of demons.'_ I thought. The cards shuffled about, but it was easy for me to pick out the one with Pixie. _**'Thou art I, and I a thou. From the sea of thy soul I come. I am Pixie of the Lovers.'**_ said the voice of Pixie. Time unfroze and I found another Snuff Soul. A second one was in a nearby briefcase.

Less than a minute later we encountered another Shadow Mass. KIrijo-san reminded me that I had to stay aware of the condition of my teammates. I had Yukari-san snipe this one as well, which split into four Mayas. "Burn and smash. This is getting boring facing the same opponents all the time." I said as we finished them off. "Maybe there will be more variety next time we come here?" Minako asked. "I hope so." I replied. Time froze again and three cards appeared this time, Two swords and a Pixie. I already had Pixie, so I went for one of the Swords. It gave me a weapon, a bow, the same kind Yukari-san was already using so I decided to keep it. _'There's gotta be some place that I can sell it.'_ I thought.

Kirijo-san informed us that there were no more Shadows on this floor. She said we could cover more ground if we split up, so I gave the order. She also said something about an Access Point. Yukari-san found the Access Point quickly, and I said we should head back for the day. Junpei apparently found a medicine while we were searching, and handed it over before leaving the floor.

"Welcome back." Kirijo-san said, "So how was it?" "Too easy." Minako and I said at the same time. "I see. Well if you gained confidence, that's the best thing you could of achieved." Kirijo-san said. "Man, i'm beat." Junpei-san said. "That's because you were bouncing around like a little kid." Yukari-san said. "You look pretty tired yourself Yuka-tan." Junpei noticed. "I'm still trying to catch my breath actually." Yukari-san admitted. "That's the effect of the Dark Hour; you'll become fatigued more easily." Kirijo-san said. "Minako and I noticed that early on, when we played or trained during that time." I said. "You'll get over it." Minako added. "At this rate they'll catch up to you in no time Akihiko." Kirijio-san said. "Heh, we'll see about that." Sanada-san replied.

Time froze again and Orpheus called out, _**'Thou art I, and I a thou. Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Fool Arcana.'**_ Time unfroze after that. _'I am getting tired of all of these time freezes.'_ I complained in my head. We returned to the dorm after that.


End file.
